And It's Beginning To Get To Me
by insaneandproud
Summary: [Hairspray] was listening to spatrol and this came on... Link is having one of those days ad so is penny... trink and peaweed. chapter 4 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**_Ok here's a new one, its different from my others so bare with me. I'm currently in the middle of about 6 stories... lol i go where the muse takes me :D_**

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**And It's Beginning To Get To Me**

He was starting to get really irritated and angry. Not something he was commonly known for; after all he is 'Mr Cool'. But Link Larkin had a feeling that today would be the day that he would blow his cool exterior and give anyone that passed his way a (probably) undeserved black eye. He wasn't known for being violent either. It was just… one of those days. The kind where everything was getting to him and just all he wanted to do was let loose and do some damage.

He hadn't been a bad mood like this since he was, like, twelve. But all he knew is that he hadn't woken up like it and it had just grown with everything that had been thrown at him today. The feeling that it would get worse before it got better wasn't helping him much either. His mind flashed through the sequence of events that had lead to him searching around the school campus trying to find his love, Tracey Turnblad.

So far she was nowhere to be found and it was starting to worry him.

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**_Don't worry more coming..._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_well like a promised... no flames please i know its not my best!_**

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**Link's POV:**

The morning routine had gone as usual the alarm went off, I had got showered, dressed and breakfasted and was about to run out the door to collect my girlfriend for school, when Dad had come through the front door. Now usually I avoid him like the plague, we didn't get on and really hadn't in years, I had always been closer to mum, so seeing dad's silhouetted shape in the hallway I just knew nothing good was going to happen. As usual I was spot on. Dad just looked at me with what was best described as a sneer and started ranting about the usual, singing, dancing, the hair… etc. Then he started on Tracy… how he found out I'll never really know but I had a gut instinct that it was the Von Tussles'… mainly the Velma… her and my dad had hit it off from the start and were firm friends, of some sort. When he launched his attack about my girlfriend, I just snapped, he could smear everything I did, that was fine, but not someone as sweet and generous and true as Tracey. This led to yelling and dad throwing things at me and the two of us, generally not something he wanted to waste time thinking about. Then the grandfather clock made his contribution to the noise and I realised with dread not only was I now late to pick up Tracy but also that I had now missed first period. Damn.

By the time I had got to school, after running out of the house away from my father's tantrum, second period was well underway and next thing I know I'm in detention for forgetting the history assignment that was currently sitting in my bag at home on the kitchen table. Not really the best start to the day. Then while hanging in the detention room with some of Seaweed's buddies, two members of the football team had come in to cause trouble. Seeing as they could get away with anything everyone tried to ignore them, that is, until they started talking trash to the girls. As you can imagine this lead to confrontation and like I said earlier I'm not one for violence but I won't stand there and watch that sort of stuff happen. Anyway one thing lead to another and one of them ends up with a broken nose… and my hand is throbbing. I know the real reason none of the others would do it, black guy hits a white guy… yeah I can see that being a fair trial and punishment. So the boys ran off to principle dearest and we all get a week detentions seeing as no one would own up. They later explained when I questioned Dwaine, that its all for one and one for all here in detention and for the first time that day, things were starting to look up. I had been finally been accepted for being me and not because I was Tracy's boyfriend and that felt good.

Then the lunch bell rang... and brought another load of problems.

As any high school the news is spread to every student, and when I sat down for lunch Seaweed thanked me for sticking up for the girls, Penny smiled at me and Tracy… stared at her food. That sick feeling returned when she suddenly left the table as a group of snickering girls passed our table. Now I knew that it takes a lot to upset Tracy, she told me once that because of the years of abuse and her good nature, there's not much she lets get to her anymore. She's heard it all before, and she just ignores it. This piece of information made my blood boil, and deep down it hurt me a lot to know that she was used to being hurt, I had promised myself at that moment that I would do all that I could to stop it. As I watched her go, I had felt her need to be alone, and turned to the couple sitting opposite with a raised questioning eyebrow. They'd both refused to look at me and stared either at their plates or each other. Finally Seaweed had looked me in the eyes and sighed. Right then in that moment I could guess the next words to exit his mouth…

"There's been some bad stuff going round today." he stated in his sing song voice.

"Like…" I asked openly turning to look at both of them.

"Some girls cornered Tracy… in the school bus this morning." answered Penny quietly as she stared at a table across the room. I felt sick as she continued, Seaweed grabbing her hand lovingly, as if giving the courage to continue.

"What did they-" she looked directly at me and cut off the question.

"They said some stuff, about her weight, her looks… you know the usual. Then they went on about you…"

I remember closing my eyes and dropped my head in defeat. I was not naïve or stupid, I had heard the vicious rumours being spread about me getting with Tracy… because of bets, bribery, brain damage (on my behalf) and Lord knows what other rubbish. But looking up at Penny I had known that it was worse than all that it was the one rumour I personally couldn't stand. I had known exactly what they had said to her and in that moment I truly lost my temper.

"WHAT!" I bellowed the noise echoing round the cafeteria causing an eerie silence to cover the occupants and every pair of eyes to stare at me. "Are you messing with me… this is… why would someone say that… who..."

Seaweed had looked just as angry as I did and Penny's famous lollipop had fallen out of her mouth at my reaction. She continued to stare in awe as I struggled to find the words to express myself. Seaweed seemed to understand, and I guess he did, his relationship with Penny was under even more social disgust than me and Tracy's. He just looked at me, expression saying everything that needed to be said. I wasn't finished, I wanted to let the whole student body know how annoyed I was with them, but my need to see Tracy and make sure she was ok was greater. I just left everyone there and ran out of the lunchroom all the while kicking myself for not being able to pick her up for school this morning. Not giving a damn about how uncool I had looked or the fact that everyone in the room had seen the whole exchange, I needed to find her ad fix this God awful mess. How could people be so cruel as to think that I would get with Tracey for… that?

On the way out I ran slap bang in to Princess Plastic herself and I wasn't in the mood for the confrontation, I did try my damnedest to dodge round her but she has the snare of a hunter.

"Link, how's the wife?" she asked mockingly in her overly sweet voice.

"Not now Amber" I hissed through gritted teeth. I didn't need it at that moment and I was afraid that I might break every moral fibre in my body and hurt her. I just knew she had been either one of the girls this morning, or at least the motivation behind it.

"Now Link, don't be like that. I was just being polite… I haven't seen her… distinguishable figure today and was wondering if she was ok. After all its my job as head of the student body…" she continued to ramble on in her sickly fake sincere voice I merely tuned her out before losing my temper and snapping at her before running off to look for my obviously hurt and upset girl.

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**_Oh I know how evil am I? I generally like Amber so please don't flame me I just needed a baddie..._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ok next chapter... flashback time because i like showing sugar and sweetness lol... i seem to be getting better at it. Back to 3rd person POV btw... oh nod to Yani Cardaria, you inspired my later bits... hope you don't mind :$_**

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And so here he was struggling to find the only person that meant anything to him for the first time since his mother died, trying to rack his brain to think of where she might go. He knew she'd stay away from the bleachers, the toilets, the quad and any of the playgrounds. Then, as he continued towards the car park, it hit him like a sledge hammer where she was. A flash of the previous date's conversation flashed through his mind as he span on his heels and ran back on himself_

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**Flashback:**_

_They were sat on deck chairs in the Turnblad back garden looking at the stars and listening to the soft jazz drifting from the .45's playing in the living room. She was snuggled up in front of him, lying against his chest humming along to the tune as he played with the loose strands of hair that blew in the gentle breeze. He buried his face in her hair, loving the gentle smell of lavender and honey and pulled her closer against him. She snuggled even further and sighed gently, at the sound he pulled away slightly and gently tilted her chin up so he could see her face. She smiled at his tender touch as it skipped down her jaw and into her hair cradling her head. He looked at her, a questioning look dancing in his eyes and she leaned up and kissed him gently before taking a deep breath and turning to face him. A deep fear was starting to grow in his gut and he wondered if he had done anything to provoke this change in behaviour._

"_What…" she started voice breaking half way. He looked at her gorgeous brown eyes and could see how important this discussion was to her; he gently kissed her back and waited for her to continue._

"_When your mum died how did you cope with it all?" she asked carefully obviously not wanting to upset him. _

_He leant back against the chair air momentarily sucked out of his lungs. This was not something he was expecting, but he saw how hard this was for her, took a deep breath and shared with her information he had never expressed to anyone._

"_I didn't… not really. I just…" he took another long breath and she simply looked at him eyes conveying understanding and patience giving him the courage to finish what he had started._

"_I pretended it didn't happen… at first. That she had gone on holiday or was visiting my aunts or something. I couldn't face the idea that every time I entered that house, any part of it, I wouldn't see or hear her. It was hard… so hard especially the way my dad was handling it, I felt like the day she… I lost both of them."_

_He continued to stare at the washing floating in the breeze that was hung in the Turnblad back garden seemingly lost in some distant memory._

"_For a while I just phased out, I didn't really know what to do, I just didn't really… then high school began and I wanted to be different. I didn't want… That's when I dropped football and tried dancing. My mum had always loved to dance I remember how she used to grab my hands and we'd start waltzing around the kitchen. It was something new and kept something of her alive I suppose."_

_He looked at Tracy, a small smile gracing his features as he reminisced. He titled his head to the side and peered at her as she smiled sweetly at him and pulled him closer to her. Hoping to protect him from the past and show how much she appreciated his openness._

"_Why'd you ask?" he asked gently_

"_I was just wondering how you coped…" she answered. He sensed there was something else there and he kissed her forehead and waited for her to continue. "I couldn't imagine how to handle something… like that."_

"_Can I ask you a question Doll?" he asked gently. He wasn't the only one who wondered how the other coped. She merely looked at him slightly confused as she nodded her consent._

"_How do you go cope with… everything? I mean you know…" he stuttered. He didn't really ever plan on bringing it up… but he felt now was going to be the best time to._

_She looked at him and saw fear, sadness and pride swimming in his eyes. A mixture she understood, she had always known that her past was something he wised he could wipe away with tentative touches and kisses and the fear of upsetting her by bring up experiences she had hoped to bury in her memories. The pride was new and she wouldn't realise till years later of just how much he was amazed and proud of her, how she fought off the prejudice and hatred for all those years._

"_Just like you…" she whispered, "I pretended it wasn't happening just like ma told me to. Sure there's one or two moments that got to me and I wished that I could be different but I soon snapped out of it. When things got that bad I just went to my safe place until I was ready to face the world again. I just… believed that one day someone would see that I was right there… and then one day in detention… it happened."_

_Never in his life had felt the emotions that had swelled up from that one confession, he tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat but instead he kissed her. He didn't have the talent with words to express what he felt so he showed them instead, both ended the kiss gasping at the sensation and pressing their foreheads together._

"_Wow…" she whispered causing a slight chuckle to escape his lips. _

"_Trace…" he looked at her and chocolate brown eyes met azure blue. He figured it was too soon to express the emotions he was feeling. _

"_Where's this safe place then?"_

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And there she was… sitting under the tree staring at the grass she playing with between her fingers. He slowed his pace as he neared her, he didn't want to startle her by invading her personal space. As she continued to stare at the green strand entwined in her fingers, he quickly decided he didn't give a damn if he was invading, and dropped to his knees scoping her into a tight embrace. She returned the hug and clung to him snuggling further into his chest as he stroked her hair and whispered random sweet nothings in her ear.

She looked up him eyes swimming with unshed tears and sadness and anger floating in the chocolate depths, Link felt similar emotions rise up inside himself and struggled to keep them in check. He needed to be here for Tracy, that much he knew, he just wasn't a hundred percent sure if she would allow him to be.

"Stay." She demanded having seen the doubt reflected in his eyes, he leant down gently and pressed his forehead against hers. Desperately trying to absorb some of her strength, and needed to touch her in anyway possible.

"Its not…" he started trying to repair some damage.

"I know" she interrupted, and as he pulled away he knew that but something else was there bubbling below the surface. Something she didn't want to talk about and he had some idea as to what it might be.

"You know I would never do that to you Trace… but it doesn't mean that on any other level I don't want to."

She sat up and blinked at him, confusion radiating off her in waves. He knew there was a reason he hated talking. He always seemed to put his foot in it…

"Trace… sometimes… you make it so hard for me to be good…" he rambled, trying to explain as he stumbling over his words. She kept staring at him and he started to wonder if he had just messed up everything he had tried to fix.

"Darlin'… damn it! This is so hard!" slamming his hand against his forehead and cursing seemed to knock Tracy out of her trance. She tackled him on the grass, passionately attacking his mouth in a way he knew he'd be dreaming about for months to come, and he retaliated in kind. Unused to being the one dominated Link tried his best to let Tracey take control of the situation, secretly thrilled to see a different side to her.

Not that Link didn't love making out with Tracy normally, he did… a lot. But he had always been the one… in charge, and it was thrilling to see her let loose and tell him what to do for a change. He loved the fact that she permanently kept him on his toes, never knowing what was going to happen next, it was new and exciting. Something he had never had before. He gently pulled away heaving for breath and struggling to find the strength to stop from pulling her back to him and having his way with her right there in the grass.

"We should go back to school, lunch is almost over." That wasn't what he had wanted to say but he never could find the right words when he was around her, she made him feel like a hormonal teenager. Ok yes he was… but usually he was better and controlling it. Tracy threw him through all sorts of hoops and he loved every minute of it.

As he stood up and offered his hand, she nodded and smiled in a way that suggested that she understood the raging emotions conflicting against his morals, and his need to escape it momentarily. Mind you the smouldering look resting just inside her eyes made him want to rethink his decision, or at least edit it slightly.

She slipped arm round his waist and snuggled closer. He grinned to himself and rested his head gently against hers as they strolled gently across the green grassy fields and back towards the brick buildings.

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**_ugh... thoughts? feelings?... currently writing a sequel to 'he came back' so please bare with my updating habits :)_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_hey guys... i've tried to update as quick as possible but if its rubbish please don't flame me. i'm sore after my rugby pratice so i'm in pain already lol :). i hope you like it, i've put in the peaweed bit just like i promised... more trink and peaweed fluffliness coming up soon :)

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_**Penny sighed in content as Seaweed twirled his fingers through her blonde pigtail, as they cuddled at the back of the bus. Both content with they're surroundings, and both trying to enjoy the little time they manage to get with each other, as much as possible. She snuggled further into his warm embrace to try and ignore the thoughts of having to go back to her mother's house again. 

Ever since she had announced herself as a checker board chick on live television a few months back, her mother had brought a whole new reign of punishment into the house. Something that was now getting to Penny more than it had before, she wasn't one to usually lose her cool, but it was starting to get to the point that she felt that if she didn't get out soon, she didn't think she'd be able to get out at all. And that thought had been echoing around her sleep for the past couple of weeks, causing her to become scared for the future.

She wished she could tell Seaweed these things, that she could be open in her relationship with him, like Tracey was with Link, but deep down she knew she wasn't as strong or brave as her. It was days like these that all of the negative energies seem to fill her and all Penny wanted to do was curl into a ball under her bed and wish for a family that understood her. It was days like these that Penny was jealous of the freedom that Tracey and Seaweed had, and that made her hate circumstances even more.

As the bus pulled up outside the station and all the 'Corny' kids got off laughing and singing and enjoying they're youth, Penny watched with fascination and a little resentment at they're carefree behaviour. She wasn't usually one for being nostalgic but it just seemed to be in the air, catching a glimpse of Tracy and Link as they stood outside the studio holding hands and talking in low voices, she smiled. She was glad Link had been able to sort out the mess the 'plastics' had caused, her mood improved further when she saw him lean down to gently kiss her every so often. Turning to smile fully at the beautiful face currently looking at her with a hint of worry in his eyes, she grabbed his hand and pulled him excitedly off the bus. She could hear his gorgeous laughter behind her as they scuffled off the bus, the sound also bringing her back out of the dumps it had been in all morning.

Suddenly being spun around and wrapped into his loving embrace, Penny couldn't help but close the gap between them and gently kiss his bottom lip, something she had learned out of they're many make-out sessions, to be something he loved. She would've loved to finish what they had started and kiss him deeply but he had a show to rehearse for and besides, she wasn't one for having an audience. As she followed through to the studio and watched everybody from the sidelines she wondered…

_Am I always going to be the one to watch others live they're lives? Or do I get a chance to shine too?_

She wasn't one for dancing or singing, it wasn't her passion as it was for the others, she personally didn't believe it was Link's true passion either, just something he was good at. She'd ever say anything, she didn't know if it was true or not, but she just wished that she had a passion she could babble on about to everyone, instead of sitting on the side and listening to what the others say.

She smiled at Seaweed as he grinned at her during his turns, she loved the way his face lit up when he was singing or dancing. She loved the way his hips and body would move in a synchronized movement to the beat and especially the way it would move as if it was water. She'd never seen anyone close to holding his ability of movement, except maybe Tracy, but hers was its own style of movement. Ugh she was going off on one again, as she looked at the other dancers all smiling and laughing, she suddenly felt very alone, especially when the dancers paired up and Seaweed was whisked off to the other end of the set. Inwardly she sighed and went to look for a chair; it was beginning to get to her, the fact that she was Penny Pingleton, and nothing more.

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**_sorry for the depressiveness but it'll get better later i promised, i just thought i'd show a different aspect to peaweed... like it? hate it? let me know so i don't mess it up too bad..._**


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